Department Of Marine Resources Maine

Department Of Marine Resources Maine is a U.S. state government entity that operates as a recipient of federal grants (93% of recent awards as prime recipient) supporting marine fisheries research, conservation, habitat restoration, and public education in Maine, with no federal contract prime or sub footprint.

The agency's federal funding streams concentrate almost exclusively on two customer agencies. The Department of Commerce National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) funds 123 awards worth $1.1 million in combined potential value, anchoring work on coastal zone management, fisheries data collection, habitat restoration, and Atlantic salmon recovery. The Department of the Interior Fish and Wildlife Service Region 5 and the broader Fish and Wildlife Service fund 74 awards combined, primarily through formula grants under the Sport Fish Restoration program (CFDA 15.605) and project grants under specialized fisheries and wildlife authorities. Together these two agencies account for 94% of recent awards. The remaining slice includes the Department of Agriculture's National Resources Conservation Service and subordinate Department of the Interior regional offices. Over the past five years, award volume peaked in 2024 with 19 grants, declining to 5 awards in 2026 to date; twenty awards reach ultimate completion inside the next twenty-four months.

DMR's capability portfolio centers on fisheries-independent and fisheries-dependent data collection, fish passage design and construction, habitat restoration, and marine species monitoring and research. Representative work includes a $56.5 million National Fish Passage Program project grant from the Department of the Interior to design and build state-of-the-art fishways at the Woodland and Grand Falls Project sites on the St. Croix River, restoring access to over 600 miles of sea-run fish habitat and 60,000 acres of alewife spawning habitat; a $14.8 million cooperative agreement from NOAA to design and build a fish lift at Woodland Dam over three years; a $1.656 million NOAA Cooperative Research Program award for Atlantic salmon population tracking, ecosystem monitoring, and hatchery program coordination across Maine's river systems; a $11.28 million NOAA Coastal Zone Management Administration Awards cooperative agreement supporting Maine's federally approved coastal management program, including coastal community planning, public access planning, and hazard adaptation; and multiple Sport Fish Restoration formula grants supporting diadromous fish management, saltwater recreational fisheries research, inshore bottom trawl surveys, and marine education through the Maine State Aquarium, Burnt Island Education Center, and statewide outreach.

DMR also functions as a sub-recipient on multiple project grants where other entities hold the prime award. Sub-award work includes fish passage design facilitation at Grand Falls through the National Fish And Wildlife Foundation, barrier removal in Merrymeeting Bay tributaries through Maine Rivers, marine recreational information program data collection support through the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, and innovative gear technology evaluation for North Atlantic right whale entanglement risk reduction through the same foundation.

As a division of the State of Maine (parent vendor), DMR receives formula-based allocations from federal fisheries and wildlife programs rather than competing for contracts. The agency's federal grant portfolio reflects its statutory role as Maine's sole management authority for diadromous species and state lead for coastal zone management, positioning it as a direct implementer of federal fisheries conservation and coastal resilience priorities in the Gulf of Maine region.